


The First Day

by FullmetalDevil



Category: Bendy and the Ink Machine
Genre: Being Put Back Together, Family Bonding, Injury Recovery, Some Fluff, Some angst, mentions of serious injury
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-09
Updated: 2019-08-09
Packaged: 2020-08-14 00:02:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,332
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20182912
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FullmetalDevil/pseuds/FullmetalDevil
Summary: The studio was yesterday's memory and now the recovery begins today. The road to full recovery is a long one, but it has to begin somewhere as both respective families learn with the two toon demons they just brought home. Their first day in the world beyond the studio was a long one.





	The First Day

**Author's Note:**

> This is actually a rewrite of a short I wrote a long time ago shortly after I began writing the main AU. After several months of debate, I decided to bite the bullet and rewrite it (with omitting obvious key information) and simply focus on how the families dealt with bringing home their respective toons for the first time.

Golden beams of light danced through the dusty old curtains to shine their rays of morning cheer on a small sleeping face. The figure lightly groaned at the brilliant intruder, but despite small urges to block out the offending light he couldn't find the energy to do anything about it. His mis-matched pie cut eyes blearily opened after several failed attempts to find that he was wearing some sort of cloth and was wrapped in a larger piece of thicker fabric. He realized that he was bound within this fabric cocoon and attempted to free himself of it, but again found himself lacking the strength to even move a finger.

A squeaky toy whine escaped him as he mentally recounted what happened to him last, trying to recall why he felt so exhausted. He remembered lots of fighting, running and his body falling apart, but not much else afterwards. The last thing he could remember was seeing a door before his world began to turn black and 2 sets of hands trying to catch him. He cautiously looked around and realized that he was back in his normal form which warranted a wave of panic to sweep over him. His normal toon form in the studio meant he was vulnerable, and being vulnerable meant death.

Benny wiggled as best he could loudly whining as he tried to escape, not realizing that he was nestled between two figures who were rapidly stirring from the demon's panicked cries. The demon failing to realize that he was no longer surrounded by musty yellowed walls nor the miasma of old ink. The only thought process running through the devil's mind was to escape as he lacked the strength to go to his Ragdoll form.

Tom quickly woke from the small movements and the panicked cries he was hearing next to him. He hoped that a searcher or lost one hadn't infiltrated their base. His eyes shot open and quickly reached behind himself and reached for his ax only to be met with air and that he was under a blanket on a bed rather than on a cot in the corner of an old abandoned room. He realized that the room was a soft green rather than the yellow walls of the studio and that it vaguely smelled of flowers rather than ink. Realization hit him, he wasn't in the studio anymore. His sudden movement cause a pair of pie cut eyes to land on him in horror while he himself looked down at the sight before him.

The little Ragdoll demon Benny was in a pair of pajamas wrapped in a blanket between him and Allison whom was also waking from the demon's distress. The demon looked at him in a mix of shock and horror before it warped to anger while a distressed squeaky toy whine escaped him and he tried to wiggle out of his blanket, but clearly was having trouble doing so.

Benny looked at the strange man in horror before anger took him. Who is this guy? Wait is that Thomas? Why is he here? Why can't I transform? What is wrong with me, I can't move. Where am I? The toon's mind raced mile a minute as his whining got louder and his attempts at freeing himself more desperate. His body all the while unwilling to move beyond the motions of his floating head.

Tom quickly reached down and attempted to pet the distressed demon to calm him down, but had to quickly draw his hand away when said devil opened his mouth to reveal large sharp triangular teeth. The demondoll repeatedly snapped his teeth every time Tom's hand got too close earning a small look of pain from him. Did Benny not recognize him? Did he think he was still in the studio?

Benny bared his teeth at Tom and snapped at his hand if it got too close and soon found himself being pulled into something. He was about to try and bite whatever was tugging at him when he was met with soft humming. The demon's teeth hovered over the offending limb grabbing him before his teeth turned flat again and he closed his mouth.

Allison woke to see Benny lashing out in fear at her husband as the devil’s teeth could be heard harshly snapping together. Her mind quickly ran through the previous nights events and she realized that Benny most likely doesn't realize he isn't in the studio anymore and is on the defensive. She saw the confused and pained look in her husbands face as he tried to approach the demon, but it seemed that Benny didn't recognize him. Then again the man isn't a Boris toon anymore. The devildoll only seemed to recognize her as she still vaguely looked like herself when she was an Alice toon and that further cemented the suspicion when she began to hum. The devil’s reaction at the time made her realize that the Ragdoll monster was her little Benny all along. Perhaps if her humming worked then, it could work now.

Allison's humming drifted through the air as her gentle hands pulled the agitated demon away from her husband and into her embrace, allowing him to feel the vibrations in her chest from her humming a gentle yet familiar tune. Benny's fear and anger melted away to comfort and security when he realized whose embrace he was in, it was the only woman he ever considered his mother. Allison. He closed his eyes and allowed himself to be embraced by her and gently hummed alongside her as best he could from an old faded memory.

Tom watched with relief as Benny visibly calmed down and relaxed into Allison's hold. He was thankful that her tunes can calm him down as the last thing he wanted was to get bitten or to be dealing with the plushtoon’s problematic other form. It surprised him even more when the small toon was humming lightly alongside her, he was doing the best he could, but the melody was still there. Still, it pained him that Benny was very aggressive towards him. He hoped it was out of fear and lack of recognition rather than something else.

The mechanic lightly cleared his throat finding that after 30 years of being unable to speak he was finally able to hear himself. He had begrudgingly grown so used to hearing nothing from himself as he nearly forgot what he sounded like, sure his voice was a little deeper then he remembered, but he was able to make a sound. The man relished in the little noise he made before trying to see if he could convey his desires.

"Do-" Tom paused in his words carefully, trying to get back to the rhythm of speech. "Do… you want some breakfast?"

Allison looked at him in brief shock at his voice, but warmly smiled. "You can speak again. I'm so glad, you've been unable...for so long" small tears formed at the edges of the woman's eyes.

A wave of concern hit Tom and he leaned down to try and wipe her tears away, but instead was met with a row of sharp teeth as Benny wasn't letting him near Allison. The man had to quickly drew his hand away lest he'd be searching for a medical kit after Benny was through with him. Allison wiped away her own tears while nodding slightly for which Tom assumed was an answer to his earlier question. She gently pulled Benny back away from Tom hugging him while she rested her chin between the demon’s horns.

Tom said no more and he edged out of his side of the bed briefly taking in the look of the room before finding his ink soaked boots and begrudgingly slid them on taking mental note to look for new shoes later. He got up from the bed and picked up his room key opening the door before turning to look back at Allison from the doorway. The woman watched him with worried eyes mouthing 'be safe' before Tom closed the door behind him and began to scope out the building.

The hotel wasn't very large, but it was the closest one they were able to find after leaving the studio. Henry was a blessed man and was able and kind enough to drop them off at the hotel to rest before figuring out their next step. The news of the current day and year hit them like a ton of bricks and the grim reality set in that they are all now homeless due to the unforgiving passage of time. Their homes long since repossessed and sold as their former owners were trapped in a hell of their bosses own making. The only small silver lining was that their bank accounts had miraculously survived giving them all a chance to start over. Everyone was able to withdraw some funds, and with Henry's help, raid the local corner market for a quick change of clothes along with some supplies. Tom had gone in for his and Allison's sake, and grabbed 2 adult pajama sets and 1 child set alongside a sewing kit. It wasn't much of a start, but it was something. Tom shook the thoughts away as his best method to a new beginning was to get a decent meal, can’t start the day off hungry.

Prior to Henry dropping them off at the hotel he informed them that this one was more of an inn and thus had free breakfast in the morning hours should they get up early enough. Tom cautiously walked about the grounds checking every corner before realizing how stupid he looked, old habits die hard. He straightened himself up and managed to locate the central living quarters that was packed and ready to go with all the fixings for breakfast. Much to his relief, no other patrons of the establishment was frequenting the room giving him free rein to do what he needed.

The room had 2 large machines in one corner while several vats of coffee had been left sitting out for guests alongside several jars of what he assumed was syrup and a few large dispensers of cereal. Tom drifted to the 2 machines and realized (after lightly pulling on the lever) that one dispenses batter and the other was a waffle maker. Once he had the machines figured out, he grabbed three plates and laid them on the table next to the machines and began to fill the small paper cups with the batter before pouring them in the waffle maker setting it to cook. After he set up the machine to make 4 at a time, he located a small cart for room service and set the plates on it since he knew he wouldn't be able to carry the plates back easily.

Tom paced about the kitchen area grabbing several boxes of juice alongside 2 small glass bottles of milk before pillaging the cereals and bowls. He set all the items in the cart just in time to hear the bell of the waffle maker indicating they were ready. He carefully used a fork to pluck them off the pans and set them on a plate before making 2 more rounds of waffles. He grabbed one final cup filling it with syrup before setting it down with the rest of the food. With the last item was in place he looked at his cart mentally scolding himself as reality set in. Could they possibly eat all that? The man regretting grabbing so much food as an old habit of stocking up on bacon soup was hard to break. Deciding to leave things to chance, he grasped onto the cart and carefully wheeled it down the walkway to their room.

He fumbled with the keys as it was taking a minute to get used to having a full set of 5 fingers rather than the cartooney 4. Once the keys cooperated he slowly opened the door poking his head in to see Allison look at him critically before relaxing at a familiar face. Once he got her visual confirmation he pulled the cart in behind himself and shut the door locking it.

Allison gently moved coaxing Benny out from her side, the devildoll whining in protest. She smiled as his stubbornness, but ran her fingers between his horns. "C'mon. Foods here."

At the promise of a meal Benny ceased his protests allowing Allison to move him since he was unable to move too much on his own. His limited mobility earning twinges of concern from both Tom and Allison, but both decided to focus on getting in a real meal before worrying about assessing Benny's injuries. If the toon would even let them.

Tom handed Allison the first plate containing the waffles. She reached for the cup of syrup and lightly poured some over the waffles before trying to pass them to Benny. The toon whined as he couldn't even lift his hands to accept the meal earning looks of pity from the couple.

Benny lightly scowled at his body's refusal to function, but squeaked in shock when Allison lifted him up and set him on her lap leaning against her arm. He looked at her confused until he saw Tom cutting up some of the waffles into bite sized pieces and held the plate while Allison picked up a piece with a fork and held it in front of his mouth. He quickly realized what she was doing and graciously accepted the food.

Inky tears began to form at the edges of the plushtoon’s eyes the more food he ate gaining looks of concern from Allison and Tom and before they could ask what was wrong, Benny openly cried making Allison stop trying to feed him and focus on trying to comfort him. The toon bawled in her arms while she hummed and whispered comforting words to him while Tom lightly patted his back. They stayed like that for awhile trying to calm the demon down.

Allison was reminded of the first day she met Benny and how the toon cried at her simple act of kindness. He had been so scared and on the run to survive that when he met her he couldn't believe that someone actually cared. It saddened her that after all this time the demon seemed to be back to step one all over again, except this time he doesn't have the band to help him. She waited patiently until the demon had quieted down, and once she felt he was ready, tried to feed him again.

Tom felt part of his heart break at watching the toon's meltdown. Benny had shown unending strength throughout the madness of the studio alongside Bendy with both demons their own respective horrors of the halls, but now he was weak and scared. Just like his first day. The toon was as frail as he was when he was first born and that fragility made him fearful. He didn't like seeing the large inky tears streaming down the toons face nor the teeth bared in fear, he wanted to see the little one smile genuinely. It seems that may take some time as for now he needs to start the road to recovery as his may be longer than theirs.

Tom waited patiently for Allison to feel that Benny was able to continue before silently handing her more and more food for the toon to eat. Much to their surprise Benny ate and drank all the excess food and drink he had brought not counting his and Allison's breakfast he had set aside. Once the toon was finished he yawned as (to Tom and Allison's amazement) little cartooney 'Z' occasionally appeared above the toon's head before they burst waking him. Allison chuckled at the sleepy demon remembering this odd toon logic while Tom looked on in a mix of amazement and confusion. Who knew some manners of cartoon logic could work in the real world?

Allison lifted Benny into her arms signalling Tom to prepare the bed. Instead of making a sort of cocoon to lay the demon in as he did the night before, Tom made a sort of doughnut for which Allison placed Benny in the center. The pair ate their breakfast while they watched Benny until the tooney 'Z's consistently floated above his head meaning he was out like a light. Making sure the demon was dead to the world, Tom carefully unbuttoned Benny's pajama top silently cursing why he even bought the thing since it had so many buttons. It made him wonder if it was normal for children's clothes to have so many buttons solely for the purpose of driving their already sleep addled parents insane. The final button came undone much to Tom's relief and he carefully slid the top off Benny giving him and Allison a proper look at the state of their toon.

Benny's arms were nearly completely severed and were literally hanging on by a few threads and his normal toon body strongly resembled how tattered and torn apart his larger Ragdoll form looked. His stomach was in better shape with only the thread that held it together being loose rather than being completely severed. The toon's ink and stuffing were still contained within. It was heartbreaking for the couple to properly see how much damage Benny had sustained from their escape as the demon took many blows that were meant for them rather than him. He used himself as a shield even though his body couldn't handle the stress. Seeing his injuries made them wish they could have done something about it sooner. They were so tired from the studio they only managed to put on a pajama set on him putting him to bed before they washed up and put on their sets before sleep took them.

Tom lightly shook his head trying to clear himself of the negative thoughts before looking for his other purchase from last night. He reached for the small nightstand next to their bed and grasped a small mini purse like bag. While normally he wouldn't be caught with such a bag in a million years, it was the bags contents he desired. He held the bag carefully and opened it to reveal a mini sewing kit with several needles, 2 spools of black thread and a pair of scissors. He held out a needle which Allison quickly took from him while he measured out two lengths of thread and handed Allison one of them. The couple threaded their respective needles and slowly started working on Benny's worn and tattered body.

A shared sigh of relief graced Allison and Tom when they realized that Benny seemed to be sleeping through them trying to sew him back together. Before they began, Allison had whispered a small warning to Tom about the first time she repaired Benny finding that it hurt him severely, but after a few motions of her needle on the toon's shoulder he wasn't phased at all. He must be recovering his ink to numb the pain. She couldn't help, but wonder what happened to him to have his limbs completely severed and held together with thread and ink. He wasn't this torn up when they got separated. What did he go through for the 30 years they were separated? That question best be asked another time.

Tom was a bit slower at sewing then Allison as it wasn't his strong suit and if anything he was getting a better look at the toon's body now that he wasn't trying to sink his teeth in his hand. With each loop of the thread and the more Benny's body was slowly put back together, he watched in amazement as ink was filling in the small imperfections along with the fabric that was stretching over most of his wounds. To his annoyance the only injuries that didn't heal was where his limbs had been completely severed and sewn back on. He silently hoped that if Benny had been completely put back together his disturbing injuries would heal, but it looks like whatever happened to him was permanent. Many questions crossed his mind as well as potential scenarios, but for now he let it go to focus on the task at hand. As long as Benny would be able to move on his own again was all that mattered to him.

Benny was completely sewn back together and redressed in half an hour allowing Allison to cover him back up in the blanket making sure he was tucked in. She hoped that now he was sewn back together that he would be able to move better than before. Though it baffled her how he had such difficulty moving, but memories of his Ragdoll form came to mind and she remembered that his threads were intact while this time his threads were broken in many places. It seems that he can split himself apart as she observed him doing so to attack, but as long as his cords are intact he can move perfectly fine. Was this toon logic or just the odd nature of Benny being a former stuffed doll?

A small groan and the cracking of a back was heard as Tom straightened himself up. He glanced sheepishly at Allison while she chuckled at the noises whispering a small comment of him being an 'old man'. Tom playfully huffed at the comment before deciding to lay back down in the bed. He had to admit he was completely exhausted from the events that unfolded and now that he himself had a full stomach he wanted some sleep as well. He turned to face Allison laying down and after a short time was out like a light.

Allison smiled as she watched both Benny and Thomas sleep, they both needed rest as they had fought so hard to help free themselves of the studio. Taking the quiet moment, Allison got up from the bed and carefully rolled the cart outside and down the hall towards what she suspected was the central portion of the complex. She returned the cart to the central room and returned to her room and sat back down on the bed looking over her shoulder at a piece of paper laying next to the phone on her nightstand. She picked it up remembering it was Henry's phone number he left with them the night before and had asked for them to call him in the morning, or at least once they woke up.

Her fingers glided over the rotary phone on the nightstand as she was thankful that the phones had not changed much and slowly dialed the number.

\--------- Henry's House ---------

Henry blearily drifted through his home still edgy from the previous events of the studio. It didn't help that they spent much of the night calming Bendy down as the demon in question was curled up on Henry's ink soaked couch under his blanket. He was so thankful for Linda's patience and understanding as she went into full mother mode when Henry brought the injured demon home.

The woman spent a good chunk of her night helping Henry dig through his art supplies gathering up as much ink as they could to feed the demon to try and help his injuries recover. When Henry ran out of ink to feed Bendy and he was still leaking a lot from open injuries, Linda took over to bandage him as best she could. While she was busy with Bendy, Henry was attending to his own injuries and getting in a solid meal while answering any questions about what happened in the studio to the best of his ability.The pair spent the night changing Bendy's bandages and trying to comfort him when he finally woke.

Henry nearly fled in fear when Bendy tried to change into his ink demon form, but stopped part way through the transformation when Linda yanked the demon's head into her chest hugging him tight while whispering and rubbing his back gently. Bendy remained frozen from the action for what felt like forever before his accumulated ink washed off him reverting him back to his normal toon form. Linda looked as exhausted as Henry was, but she was used to Henry's now rare panic attacks from his time spent in war, the man screaming or fighting in his sleep. She long since learned that by hugging him while talking to him or forcing him to look at her all the while trying to regulate his breathing helped snap him out of his attacks or at the least calm him down. Bendy seemed to lose his eyesight so her bear hug was the next best thing. It made Henry smile to see that her tactic of calming him down during his panic attack seemed to help Bendy calm down as well. Once the demon was somewhat sedated Linda passed him back to Henry for which the demon clung to him like he was his lifeline. Henry let the little demon sleep next to his side noticing that his presence seemed to be a calming factor for the toon as he himself succumbed to exhaustion.

Now he found himself roaming his house in the morning hours trying to get some semblance of food while Bendy was still sleeping on his couch. The phone rang in the kitchen catching his attention as he made his way over to it and picked it up.

"Hello? Stein Residence" Henry tiredly yawned into the phone.

"Morning Henry." A soft voice answered with a slight giggle.

Henry realized instantly who was on his phone and smiled "Morning Allison."

"How are things with you?" She asked quietly on the line.

Henry lifted a brow as how softly she spoke on the phone as it was a bit hard for him to hear her, but he figured she was probably the only one up. "Once I got home I introduced Linda to Bendy and told her what had happened at the studio. I fully expected her to fear him, but she immediately took him in her wing and started caring for him while giving me a chance to relax a minute."

Allison listen to him before asking "Did he cause any trouble?" She was well aware of the demon's abilities and feared he may be lashing out as much as Benny was. There was a pause on the line before Henry answered.

"Yes and No. He did wake up and had a panic attack, but Linda was able to subdue him before it got out of hand. Once he relaxed she gave him to me where just being near me seemed to calm him down. I guess my being his creator was all he needed to feel more at ease." Henry chuckled on the line. "How's Benny? I know he wasn't in the best of shape when we left." Henry remembered driving down the road towards the hotel occasionally looking at the rear view mirror at Allison in the backseat trying to hold Benny together as his body looked like it had gone through a shredder. The plushtoon's body more fragile than his ink demon counterpart.

Allison let out a long sigh in the phone. "Broken. His body was so worn and beat up. His arms were the worst as they were hanging on by a few threads."

"Isn't that normal for him? After all in his larger form that's how his arms were and they moved just fine." Henry recalled how the stitched demon fought with his arms swirling around him like snakes before they lashed out like whips.

"No, Benny never had severed limbs before. When he was with me before the studio fell he only had stitching on his face and his stomach. His arms and right leg were never cut off. They were injuries that happened some time after we were split apart."

"I see. So how is he now?"

Allison looked over her shoulder at Benny whom was nestled in his blanket with Tom's arm over him protectively. "He's weak and it will take awhile for him to recover. Thomas and I sewed him back together and his injuries are slowly healing, but I worry. He doesn't seem to recognize Tom at all. He was biting at him to keep Tom from getting too close."

"Well keep in mind that Tom was a Boris toon for a long time, he probably doesn't know that the man and the toon are the same person. Heck he barely recognized you when you met." Henry tried to ease the woman's concern.

"Thing is Henry, Benny has shown that he remembers his time with me before the studio fell. He should remember how Tom used to look before he was turned into a toon." Allison's voice died down "At least I hope so. I don't want to see him being fearful or hating Thomas."

Henry could hear the sorrow in the woman's tone. Thomas built the Ink Machines and Benny and Bendy were the results. The confrontation with Joey proved the suspicion that a little of each person was put into each toon, himself with Bendy and Thomas with Benny. It would stand to reason that under that logic that the toon's are, in a sense, offspring with both men as their respective fathers. Henry felt a sense of pity knowing that Allison most likely has drawn a similar conclusion and was afraid that Benny didn't recognize or hated the man that's supposed to be his father.

The animator thought for a minute before softly answering "Only time can tell. If you fear he doesn't remember Tom, tell him who he is. Benny may need a refresher since it's been so long. The sooner the better. If he doesn't remember right away then maybe they need a fresh start."

Allison agreed with Henry and the two idly chatted away all the while unaware that the small figure behind her had stirred.

\-------- The Connor’s Hotel Room --------

Benny had woken up and was about to crunch down on Thomas's offending arm laying on him until he heard Allison talking about Tom and how he should remember him. Benny quietly listened to her as well as whomever she was talking to. He could just hear the other person talking about how he may need a reminder. Benny looked at Tom and lightly bared his teeth. Oh he didn’t need a reminder, he remembered Tom all right. That man was supposed to have brought him home a long time ago and instead left him in that room. It was this man's fault he was left behind, but his thoughts died down at remembering how Allison and Tom both looked in the studio let alone the fact that they were still there. He could have sworn they had long since left, but why did they look like toons?

Benny cautiously tested his arm finding that it was responsive, albeit numb, but working. He slowly lifted his arm and shadowed his fingers on the side of Tom's sleeping face. His pie cut eyes studying the man critically. He could have sworn Tom didn't have this many wrinkles on his face let alone looking a bit pale. He remembered him as strong, stern with fully tanned skin, but before him was an older man looking weary from the world. How come he looked so different? Even Allison looked older than he last recalled. His thoughts were interrupted by a soft voice behind him.

"Do you remember him?" Benny turned to look at Allison whom had hung up the phone and was looking at him with worried eyes. "He's Thomas, my husband and the one who built the Ink Machine."

Benny looked at Allison before looking back at Tom and nodded. He slowly scooted out from under Tom's arm and pressed himself against Allison's side all the while keeping a watchful eye on the sleeping man. Allison watched the toons response to the question and realized that he wasn't much of a talker. Did he forget how to? He hadn't really spoken since leaving the studio and even in the studio he hardly said a word. Did being separated for all that time make him withdrawn? She let out a soft sigh and gently ran her fingers between his horns before laying down herself. Soon after awhile sleep welcomed her back into its embrace.

Benny all the while had nestled himself next to Allison feeling the comforting warmth of her side and to give himself some distance between himself and Tom. He still couldn't forgive Tom for what had happened and opted to lay there silently.

He didn't know how long he laid there listening to Allison's heartbeat nearly falling back asleep himself before the figure next to him began to stir. The toon tensed up when he saw Tom's brown eyes open and a small smile graced his features as he looked at him. The man slowly edged his hand over to Benny for which he flinched away making Tom pause.

Tom looked at Benny with small concern before slowly proceeding to gently rest his hand on the toon's head. Benny made a small distressed whine and tried to edge away, but couldn't because of Allison. Tom removed his hand with the demon quieting down a bit before he slowly sat up in bed and looked at the clock. The hour had grown late and was well into the mid afternoon hours earning a small groan from Tom. He looked over his shoulder at Allison whom was sleeping and Benny whom was nestled under her blanket watching him.

Taking the quiet moment to his advantage, Tom carefully got up from the bed and looked at his clothes that he had tried to scrub out the ink the night before and left to dry. They were beyond hope, but at least they looked a little cleaner. He freshened up in the restroom and got dressed before grabbing a piece of paper and left Allison a note saying that he'll be right back before setting it on his pillow.

All the while Tom knew he had a little pair of eyes watching him and once he was done with his note he looked over at Benny. "I'll be gone for a little bit, take care of Allison while I'm gone… Can you do that?"

His answer was a small nod before the toon completely disappeared under her blanket. Tom frowned and just gathered up the room key and quietly opened up the door before leaving. In the back of his mind it pained him to see Benny rejecting him and hoped that he would be able to mend that, but in order to do that they need a home.

Tom managed to back track to the bank, but just before he approached the door he took a look at his clothes and decided that perhaps he needed to look a bit more presentable first. He drifted to the small shopping center that to him was once a grass field full of wild flowers and a few trees. He couldn't believe how much had changed through the 30 years they were gone. Businesses and homes covered areas that used to be fields and there were so many new streets and vehicles that he didn't recognize at all. He sauntered up and down the boardwalk taking as many mental notes of what was in the area as he could. The sooner he had a mental map, the better.

Through his pacing up and down the walk he spotted a small clothing store with a young man standing out in front of the place passing out fliers for the boutique to any and all passerby. A large sign hung above the place reading 'grand opening'.

The young man looked at Tom and his eyes lit up. "Good evening sir! We are celebrating our grand opening, might I interest you in our wide range of wares?" The gentleman gestured toward the interior which had several rows of clothing all different styles and patterns while passing him a flier. "To celebrate, all items are 30% off!"

Tom looked at the flier that had been given to him and into the shop. He shrugged, 'it couldn't hurt to at least see what they have' he thought to himself before entering.

The shop was like the cave of wonders to the old mechanic. So many different outfits were hung from the walls along with a wide range of styles of clothing from children's play clothing to business suits. His first stop was the children's section remembering that Benny stood about 3' tall and would need small clothes to try and hide himself. He fingered through a few basic outfits finding that their prices were higher than what he remembered for clothing, but wasn't about to complain when the prices for everything had increased after 30 years. He selected a few small articles of clothing setting them aside before heading to the women's section.

While he considered himself a modest man, he was familiar with Allison's sizes in terms of clothing. His face was dusted with pink when he went through the lingerie section grabbing her a set of undergarments. It wasn't exactly his favorite past time of shopping with her for clothing, but he was thankful for all the times he looked at the tags. With her undergarments secured he grabbed 2 dresses and 2 pairs of pants and 3 shirts for her figuring it was at least a decent start. He handed the accumulated clothing over to the clerk to have him hang onto them for him while he continued shopping.

The last stop was the men's section as he grabbed some undergarments for himself along with 2 pairs of pants and 3 shirts. While he was rifling through the clothes racks he spotted the hat section of the store. While he himself rarely wore them unless it was for a formal function, he knew he needed to have some way of hiding Benny's horns. He handed the clerk the additional clothing before backtracking to the hat rack.

He had never seen so many styles of hats as there were a good quantity and variety of them to choose from. He didn't want anything formal and just simple everyday wear as he mentally grumbled at the selection. Towards the end of the pile was a plain black Fiddler hat. Tom picked up the cap like hat and examined it, he felt it was a bit large, but it should be more than enough to hide Benny's horns comfortably. With final purchase in hand, Tom retreated to the front counter to pay his tab.

The clerk happily rang up all his items and noted that the older man was lacking a means to carry them. "Sir would you like some sort of bag or briefcase to carry your items?"

It dawned on Tom that he had no proper way of carrying all the items with him and he sheepishly nodded. He got so spend happy that he failed to think about the realities of how he was gonna carry everything without a car.

The clerk chuckled at the man before grabbing 3 suitcases, 2 adult sized ones and a child sized one. Tom was about to object since they would be an additional expense, but the clerk held up his finger over his lips silencing him and told him that they are part of their grand opening being their promotional items and gifts. The cases were simple, but bore the logo of the shop and seemed to have been well made. The young man rang up all the items except the cases and carefully stowed each item in the cases based on their assumed owners. The final price was within reason for Tom and he had no problem paying the price for them. He thanked the clerk for his efforts and nabbed a business card pocketing it before hefting the cases. He left the shop waving goodbye before heading up the street to find an eatery to bring some food home.

There was a small diner that had dozens of cars circling it as waitresses went to and from the diner to the vehicles on roller skates delivering platters of food for the patrons. Since the place seemed popular enough Tom walked up to the counter and waited patiently until a clerk was able to take his order. The poor woman looked at him like he lost his mind at the sheer size of the order, but dared not question him and simply jotted it down and accepted the payment before giving him his order number telling him that they'll call when it's ready for pick up. All the while Tom waited patiently alongside the restaurant finding within himself a sense of peace watching people, real people and not the inky remains of the staff he once worked with. He stayed in his own little world silently admiring the outside world until his number was called. He returned to the counter thanking the clerk again as he gathered up the bags of food in his free hand.

The trip back to the hotel was a bit tiring as Tom balanced several bags and briefcases in his hands and arms. He truly wished he had a car to make his travels easier, but first things first. They need a new home. One the way back he passed by the bank again finding it had closed for the evening hours. A small scowl graced his face but at the very least they have clothes and food, they can try again for the bank tomorrow. He repositioned his grip on his purchases and steadily strode down the road with the hotel sign in the distance.

All the while Tom was gone Benny carefully slid out from under the covers and paced about his new surroundings. He found himself surrounded by some colors he vaguely remembered alongside new one along with items he's never seen before. Curiosity getting the better of him, he slowly pulled himself up onto the little hotel dresser to better look at a strange box with some sort of black glass in the middle. The box wasn't very large and had 2 large circular dials next to the screen with a 3rd smaller under it. The third smaller one read 'off' and 'on' unlike the 2 above that read 'channel' and 'volume'. Whatever that meant. Benny looked at it before slowly resting his fingers on the dial and slowly turned it till a small click sound was heard and the dial indicator pointed towards 'on'.

A small hum sounded out as the item seemed to be coming to life. Next thing he knew, the glass lit up with flashing images and the sides boomed with a loud banging sounds and music. Benny squeaked in shock and fear like a startled cat hopping off the dresser onto Allison's bed diving under her blanket waking her.

Allison jolted awake from something trying to wedge itself under her and she frantically looked around the room before hearing the loud sounds coming from the edge of the bed. She looked to images of men in cowboy costumes riding horses chasing each other shooting their guns wildly along with blaring energetic music to match the climactic moment. A small smile crept on her face as she lifted a portion of her blanket to see a pair of worried pie cut eyes looking at her.

"It's ok Benny. Its only…" her voice died down looking at the box that was somehow playing a film within it. "It's only a movie, it can't hurt you" she smiled warmly at him and gently ran her fingers along his horns trying to coax him out. She glanced over at the other side of the bed noticing Tom wasn't there and a small note had been left in his place simply reading 'I'll be right back'.

Benny's pie cut eyes peered out from under the covers as Allison got up from the bed to examine the box with moving pictures. She first lowered the volume to a more manageable level before she curiously fiddled with the other large dial. Much to her surprise, there were several other films all playing at once and she wondered how many film reels are inside the box. All the while she fiddled with the box Benny crept out from his covers and sat at the edge of the bed. After a while a film’s title caught the toons attention.

"A...li son" Benny softly spoke. He realized himself that his words were choppy since he hadn't properly spoken in so long.

The woman turned to look at Benny with a small mix of surprise yet at the same time relieved that he had finally spoken. "Yes?"

Benny pointed at the screen before scrunching his face slightly in concentration, finding difficulty in forming words hardly used. " Can… I watch that…. please?"

Allison looked at the screen to see a film title come onto the screen saying 'up next: Godzilla, King of the Monsters'. She chuckled as she removed herself from the dresser. "Sure."

She crawled onto the bed sitting up and gently lifted Benny onto her lap as they prepared themselves to watch the movie before a knock was heard at the door along with small grumbling. Allison recognized the frustrated muttering outside the door as it can only belong to her husband. She lifted Benny off her lap getting an annoyed squeak from him before she peered through the eyehole confirming it was her husband.

"Welcome back" Allison smiled at Tom who looked a little worse for wear bogged down with baggage. She chuckled at the bag man and gently grabbed hold of some of the bags. "Let help you with that"

Allison helped Tom through the doorway while Benny scrambled back under the covers with only hints of his pie cut eyes visible. Tom set the suitcases down opening them up to show Allison who leapt into the man hugging him overfilled with joy. They lightly chatted between each other all the while Benny grew anxious. His movie was about to come on. A small annoyed huff alerted Allison to the fact that Benny wanted to watch a film.

"Can we save the clothes for after the film?" She looked at Tom sheepishly.

"Film?" Tom lifted a bow and saw the small box Allison gestured to.

"This, apparently it can play quite a few films on it and Benny wanted to see one." Allison explained getting a small 'oh' from her husband.

Tom lifted up the bags that Allison took from him and opened them up revealing the food he had bought. "Why not watch the film and have dinner?"

The mentioning of the word 'dinner' brought Benny out of his hiding place. He remembered the word as it was associated with a time of day to eat a meal. He cautiously approached the mechanic hoping to get some of the food, but stopped when Tom looked at him. He hadn't been the best of demon all day as he kept giving him the cold shoulder, he couldn't help it. He was still angry. His hesitation gave way to confusion when Tom knelt down with two bags filled with food smiling warmly at him.

"These two are for you." Tom carefully held the bags out a good distance from Benny. He wanted the toon to come to him as he noticed that when he approached, the demon shied away. "Just make sure to put the wrappers in a bag so it can be thrown out later."

Benny stared at Tom and at the bag for several minutes before he slowly came to the man. He reached his hands out and gently took the bags from him all the while Tom didn't dare move a muscle. Once the bags were in the toons grasp and withdrawn to his side Tom stood up taking his bag and sat on the edge of the bed. Benny looked down at his bag and then back at Tom whom was quietly undoing his wrapper for the burger.

Just before Tom bit down on the burger he felt something tug on his pant leg. He peered down to see Benny lightly tugging on his leg. The toon looked up at him making eye contact.

"Thank… you."

The voice was soft and shy, but once Benny said his thanks he scrambled to Allison's side of the bed hopping up so he can get a view of the movie as it's opening credits began to play.

Tom looked at the toon wide eyed before he was hit with a wave of relief. He found a shared look on his wife as they both looked at the little demon sitting between them before eating their dinners. Tom quietly ate his burger watching the film with a dinosaur like monster scaring the locals on a hilltop before leaving. After a time he felt like someone was watching him and he spied a pair of pie cut eyes looking up at him. He wondered what the toon wanted and lifted a brow in question. His answer; a small smile before Benny turned around watching the movie once more.

A tap dancing pink elephant in a polka dot tutu could have passed in front of Toms face and he'd be none the wiser as he was frozen by the image he had just witnessed. It was a small smile, a genuine smile from the little plushdemon toon he cared for. Soon a smile grew on the older man's face as he felt all the tension in his body release. Benny smiled at him, it was a small start on the road to recovery, but a start all the same.

**Author's Note:**

> While Benny may not like Tom for the things the man has done, it's the man's little acts of respect towards the toon and helping him that earn a small smile from his face.  
Before anyone starts; this takes place before 'Musical Babysitter' where they truly learn why Benny occasionally acts out the way he does. They do repair their relationship over time after they forgive one another for the thing's they've done.


End file.
